Chapter 175 - Astral Vision

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When Mr. Cooke showed up, everything suddenly made sense to Clarence.

Clarence looked at Mr. Cooke. “Did you set me up?”

“I set you up?” 

Mr. Cooke laughed in disdain and shook his head. “Clarence, who do you think you are? Do I need to set you up? You’re overthinking.”

Mr. Cooke had an arrogant look on his face. “I’m just here by coincidence, and I ran into your father-in-law. He was so focused on rock gambling that he lost one billion dollars in one go. So, I asked Ms. Houston to call you over to gamble with me. 

“Frankly speaking, this is quite the surprise! You really want me to set you up? Who do you think you are? You’re just useless scum who relied on Leah to save you. If I wasn’t scared of that maniac, I’d have crushed you with just one finger.”

Mr. Cooke sounded very arrogant.

He did not hide his true feelings from Clarence.

He had the Cookes in Beth City behind him, so he had an unlimited supply of confidence.

Clarence was nothing to him. Who did he think he was?

Armstrong had surprised him. The invite had been a ploy to lure Clarence into the trap.

Bill, Kate, and the rest had unpleasant looks on their faces.

They were scared of Mr. Cooke, so they did not dare to say anything.

Clarence smoothed down the wrinkles on his sleeve. “It’s a surprise? I see. Tell me, how do you want to do this? I’ll play with you.”

When Mr. Cooke saw how calm Clarence was, he was taken aback. Then, he threw his head to guffaw loudly. “Hahaha, how interesting. You’re good for nothing, yet you have such courage.”

Soon, though, his expression grew serious. “The most common method in the stone gambling circle is two people cutting a stone at the same time. The one who finds something with a higher value wins. It’s simple and straightforward. Today, we’ll do it the simplest way.”

Clarence nodded indifferently, “Okay, I accept.”

Miranda was worried. “Clarence, this is their territory. Watch out for traps.”

Peony quickly stopped her. “You silly girl, what are you talking about? Mr. Cooke is from Beth City, and he’s righteous. Why would he pull any cheap tricks? Plus, doesn’t Clarence know how to gamble stones? He’ll be fine.”

Miranda turned around to look at her mother. “Mom, Clarence is helping us. Shouldn’t I tell him to be careful?”

Peony laughed in embarrassment. “Um… I’m only worried about our family. Your father owes them a billion dollars, so if Clarence doesn’t do this, how can he save the Murphys?

“Plus, Clarence is doing this to remarry you. He’ll do anything for you.” Peony was oddly confident about her daughter’s charm.

Miranda was shocked.

Clarence still had no expression on his face. He looked very calm.

Mr. Cooke looked at him in rumination. “Are you done debating whether you want to do it or not? Do you have the guts to gamble with me? If you don’t, give me a billion dollars and scram!”

Clarence shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ll do it.”

Mr. Cooke laughed sinisterly. “Good! Let’s add to the fun.”

Clarence frowned.

Mr. Cooke continued, “This normal way is far too boring. Why don’t we do something more interesting? Whoever wins, the other party will have to compensate him ten times the value of the jade. 

“For example, if I find a jade that costs a hundred million and you only find one worth ten million, you’ll lose and have to pay me a billion.

“If I find a jade worth a billion and you only find one costing a hundred million, you’ll still lose. Then, you’ll have to pay me ten billion!”

Mr. Cooke’s true intentions were now exposed. He was baring his fangs now.

He was not interested in the Murphys’ one billion. He was interested in Clarence’s ten billion.

Yesterday, Selina had promised in front of everyone that she would give Clarence ten billion dollars.

Mr. Cooke wanted those ten billion dollars.

Kate could not stand it anymore. She said, “Why is Clarence the one at a disadvantage?”

Mr. Cooke looked pleased. “Why? Hehe. Astral, come out!”

An old man in a gray robe walked out from behind a corner. He was hunched over and clearly hunchbacked. He was not outstanding at all. No one would suspect him of being a fraud if he went somewhere with a lot of people and put a bowl down in front of him.

The only surprising thing about him was that the old man’s pupils looked strange.

One was completely black while the other was completely white.

He looked like someone in a horror movie who could see things beyond this realm. No wonder he was called Astral.

While everyone saw that this old man’s eyes were special, Armstrong’s eyelids twitched violently. He exclaimed, “Astral? Is he that master of stone gambling from Green Country?”

“Stone gambling master? What’s going on?” Peony asked curiously.

Everyone else also looked at Armstrong curiously.

Armstrong’s face fell. “Clarence is definitely going to lose! I’m finished!”

“What on earth is going on?” Peony was a little anxious.

Armstrong closed his eyes, his shoulders slumping. “Astral was a native of Green Country, and he grew up in a village near a jade mine. Then, for some reason, something happened to his family. His parents and siblings all died on the same night. 

“When people found them, Astral was the only one still alive. Something strange had happened to his eyes, too.”

If one was not in the stone gambling circle, one would not know who Astral was.

However, Armstrong had been in the circle for decades, so he had heard a lot about Astral and his life story.

“After that, people discovered that Astral’s eyes were very accurate. Out of ten stones he picked, eight or nine of them would always contain jades. Astral has never been beaten in the stone gambling circle of Green Country. A lot of people have gone bankrupt because of him. 

“However, he’s a strange person. He only helps other people gamble, and he never gambles for himself. He’s also helped a lot of millionaires before.

“According to some incomplete statistics from some people in the stone gambling industry, Astral has won at least 100 billion US Dollars in recorded stone gambling competitions in his lifetime.”

Everyone was shocked.

100 billion US Dollars?

It would be a lot more money once converted to their local currency.

Such a terrifying number could turn the world upside down.

If he had won more than 100 billion in his lifetime, could Clarence beat him?

No wonder Armstrong had said that Clarence would definitely lose.

“Hehe…”

Astral made some hoarse noises from his throat that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. “I didn’t expect someone here to know me. However, what you’ve said has only scraped the surface. Do you think I can only see whether there are jades in stones?”

Astral smiled ominously. “I can also see things you cannot see. For example, the girl in red behind you…

“She’s sticking her tongue out at you.” Astral pointed behind Peony and the gang.

Peony and the gang turned around, only to see nothing behind them. 

Something that the human eye could not see? What could it be?

It could only be ghosts!

“Ahh!”

Peony and the gang were horrified. They frantically ran to a place with more people.

“I heard that a man once lost his entire fortune in First Pavilion. He killed himself on the spot. Later, a woman found this place and killed herself while wearing red clothes. Was that the woman’s ghost?”

The other people in First Pavilion looked at Astral with respect.

“Go away! Go away! No!” Peony kept jumping around. Peony thought the ghost had her eyes on her.

The Reed siblings’ faces turned white as well.

However, Clarence was merely amused.

He was sure that Astral was just pretending to be mysterious. He could not see any girl in red, yet Astral had?

How could there be ghosts in broad daylight?

This guy was just putting up an act.

In any case, even though Astral’s eyes were powerful, were they as good as his X-ray vision?

‘You can accurately find the jade in stones most of the time, but I can look through them and see what’s inside. Any vision of yours is useless if you want to bet with me..’